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Chapter 71: 6/30-7/1: Exhibitionism
Early Morning
Music: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental Version)
We defeated Kaneshiro, so we can rest easy for a while… I guess? So, what do you want to do today? Maybe something like a trip to Mementos?
Sorry, Ann. We’re going to wait on that Mementos visit, at least until we’re ready to take care of Chihaya’s request.
I mean, breaks are important… But we have those requests on the message board, so don’t forget to answer them.
Early Morning → After School
Music: Beneath the Mask -Rain (Instrumental Version)
Music: Aria of the Soul
We’re going to hang with Yusuke today, so we need to pull an Emperor Persona from the Velvet Room.
As a result of your daily efforts, the number of Personas in the Inmate Registry has risen. Our master is pleased with your rehabilitation and has yet again bestowed a special privilege.
We’re giving you a discount on summoning from the Inmate Registry! You’d better be thankful, Inmate!
If you fill the registry with even more names, our master says he can arrange further privileges for you. Work hard toward your rehabilitation.
Neat, a… 10% discount. Awesome. It’s at least better than the 5% discount we got in the original game for 25% completion. Whatever, let’s just summon that Persona and get out of here.
Music: Beneath the Mask -Rain (Instrumental Version)
(Easygoing Shujin Girl) What!? Are the Phantom Thieves at it again? …By the way, who’s Kaneshiro?
This line has some strong “I can’t believe Steve Jobs died of ligma.” “Who’s Steve Jobs?” energy to me.
He’s the mafia boss running Shibuya. It’s all over the internet?!
(Modest Housewife) That must have been terrifying. What happened?
Terrifying indeed! Fortunately, he only lost a cheap wallet. Couldn’t have cost more than 100,000 yen.
That would be unimaginable for us. I should have expected nothing less for your family though. Ohoho…
It is on display as we speak. Would you like to come see it with me?
Yeah, sure, let’s get this looming disaster out of the way.
Then let us head to the museum. To be honest, I have yet to actually go there myself. This should be quite lovely. *chuckle*
Emperor Rank 3: Part 64
Music: What’s Going On?
Hm, I believe my piece truly stands out among the sea of art here.
It’s certainly a lot less… erm… “tranquil.”
Despite this, no one has come to see it… They must simply be intimidated by the harsh truths about the human spirit it reflects back at them.
Uhhhh… Yeah. Probably that.
There’s a dark, almost sinister aura emanating from it.
(Middle-Aged Man) Hm, the title is… “Desire”? I see no desire here.
Some student probably painted this thinking he was being “deep.”
Wait… I can sense it reflecting harsh truths about the nature of humanity back at me… and I don’t like it! It confuses and upsets me! Dear, let’s go. There’s much more *refined* paintings over there. Ooh, look! That one’s just a mirror!
…Don’t worry about me, Maaku. I am unfazed by the reaction of such philistines.
That’s good… Wait, you called me a philistine when you showed it to m—
As long as those who are in the know understand my work, I will be happy.
Ah, an *intellectual* patron, here to appreciate something above the understanding of the masses!
Well, that’s a classic tee-up if I’ve ever seen one.
I would like your opinion, sir… What are your thoughts on this piece?
Well, the technique is excellent, but the work itself… *eh*.
Music: Suspicion
How dare you…!
Oh, did you paint this? Well, your painting is bad and you should feel bad. This conception of “desire” is a bit trite at this point, no? There’s no sense of individuality, no sense of *you* here.
What…?
Try to remove yourself from the artist’s bias. These brush strokes are splendid given your age… but does this painting really tell you anything? It is empty, devoid of meaning.
I honestly don’t know that much about static visual forms of art like paintings or sculpture or whatever, but it seems to me like one of the facets of the medium, perhaps even one of its strengths, is that it doesn’t necessarily need to tell a story or indeed say anything. Like, isn’t that the whole point of Cubism or whatever? The meaning is what you bring to it, and the Cubist “meaningless” distortion of space becomes the story. And that’s not even getting into Dadaism, which is an outright assault on the concepts of meaning and art itself. What I’m saying here is that this dude (by which I mean the writers) don’t know shit about purely interpretational forms of art with no inherent “purpose,” and would probably flip their shit upon seeing some real abstract shit.
The other thing I’ll say is that Yusuke’s painting looks fucking dope as hell, honestly, and if they wanted this dude to sound like he in any way knows what he’s talking about they probably should have just found a way to avoid showing it at all.
What!? Bitch, this is a *landscape* painting, you have no idea what you’re talking about.
What are you talking about?
Err, uhh, nothing. I’m incredibly delusional.
I suggest you take a more critical eye to your work in the future if you truly want to progress as an artist.
My work is… empty?
Well, that was an inordinately cruel thing to say to a high school student.
…Indeed.
How could this be? I put everything I have into this work, captured the very essence of my subject… This was supposed to be the truth of the world!
Hey, man. It’s fine, just don’t get so up your own ass about your masterpiece or whatever. There’ll be other chances.
Perhaps… Perhaps he was right. It may be empty after all…
Okay, this is too far in the other direction, let’s mediate a bit…
These colors, these brush strokes… They do not convey the true meaning of desire, only my conception of it! I haven’t captured desire… Desire has captured me!
Music: Alleycat
Hey, c’mon man, stand up. People are staring and I think they’ve already realized I’m with you. It’s getting very awkward for me.
It is though I have been forsaken by the gods of art! This grave mistake shall be the end for me!
It’s all over… Why even go on living if the world of art is forever closed to me?
Oh my god, dude. Chill.
…You’re right, of course. I should not surrender after a single failure.
Music: My Homie
Still, being criticized by someone with such a keen eye is truly painful…
I dunno, man. That guy seemed kinda like an idiot to me.
But I must break out of this slump and prove myself to him!
I will start by painting. After that, I will paint, beyond which I shall paint even more. That is the only way I will learn to capture the essence of emotion. After all, you can only accomplish so much in using logic to analyze the contents of the heart.
You sound like a robot right now. Well, also most of the time, but especially right now.
…I hope you allow me to continue my skill card services as well, Maaku. I shall conquer this!
Yusuke seems especially motivated…
Now then, let us head home. I wish to start anew.
…A slump, hm?
For that event, we chose options 3 (+2), 2, 2 (+3), 2 (+2).
Music: Break it Down (Elp Version)
That one gentleman’s critique made me fully realize what I’ve been lacking. Now my path is clear! I will simply keep on drawing. I’m going to have ten pieces finished up by end of today!
This seems like the worst possible way to get out of a slump.
Maaku, however, has no objection.
With your support, I was able to pick myself up rather quickly today. I hope this doesn’t discourage you from joining me again. I will get past this. Sorry for taking up so much of your time. We’ll meet again soon.
After School → Evening
Music: Beneath the Mask
Let’s do a crossword.
Music: Everyday Days
Not too hard, that one.
Maaku gains Knowledge +1.
Music: Beneath the Mask
Today, we interview a man who was once a con artist. In our talk with him, we’ll cover the skillful methods of con men, which are constantly evolving.
(Con Artist) I’m not even top of my field! The ones you really gotta watch out for are them fortune-tellers! They’ll worm their way into your good graces with their amazing predictions, then sell you a lump of shit for a small fortune when you let your guard down!
(Interviewer) Surely people don’t actually fall for that?
(Con Artist) Not immediately, no. They work up a good relationship with you first over the course of months. Only a true sucker would fall for that on the first or second visit!
(Interviewer) Astonishing. I suppose there really are idiots out there. And what do these fortune-tellers do with their illicit earnings?
(Con Artist) Honestly, I’m not too sure. I heard from a buddy of mine that they’re fronting for a cult or something, but that’s absurd.
They really put a lot of thought into these scams. I wish they’d put all that effort to better use.
Well, let’s confront Chihaya about her dastardly scams! How dare you steal from someone too stupid to know any better (me)!
Hm? She’s with a client. Sounds like they’re talking about the Holy Stone. Do you wanna eavesdrop on them?
Well, I *do* love eavesdropping…
Chihaya Rank 0.75: Part 62
Music: Suspicion
(Troubled Woman) I-I’m fine. It’s my fault anyway, Yuya said so… He says he doesn’t want to hit me, but I just make him so mad…
Have you considered breaking up with him?
No! I can’t! Yuya needs me!
But the way things are going, this will only get worse…
Isn’t there any other way?
…Let us ask the tarot. O divine power, shed light upon her fate…
Yes, I’ve seen everything.
Uhh… How can I make this scary enough to get through to her?
Huh?
Your boyfriend has the devil in him, waiting to strike out at the world and bring misery to others.
The devil? I don’t get it…
Maybe a touch too poetic? Damn…
What’s going to happen?
Err… How to put this delicately… He’s going to hospitalize you and then get arrested.
No! This can’t happen! It must be because Yuya threw away my Holy Stone! He said if I have money to spend on stupid rocks I have money to give to him instead. If I buy another, I can stop this, right? Please, let me buy another!
(muttering) Oh wow, I hate all of this!
Wait, what…? Another Holy Stone?
I don’t have a lot of liquidity at the moment, but I can pay you in installments, right!?
And to add insult to injury, she didn’t even *mention* the installment plan when we talked to her!
Um, truthfully, I feel breaking up with him would be the best—
I can’t abandon Yuya!
Wait, she thinks the Holy Stone will make her boyfriend stop abusing her? Could that be true?
What!? What the fuck is wrong with you? Of course not! We’ve been over this, it was a scam!
Right. It would make our jobs way easier if you could really change someone’s heart with a Holy Stone.
My question is, why’s a fortune-teller who can clearly actually predict the real, actual future ripping people off with bullshit chotchkies?
It’s definitely strange…
We can worry about that later. Right now we should probably, you know, stop this travesty.
…Yeah! Let’s change Yuya’s heart ourselves!
Also, we should probably stop this lady from throwing her money away.
That too!
What’s that meowing? Is there a cat here? And is someone *talking* to it? I’ll just turn my head to the left and chec—
HEY! Eavesdropper!
Lady, this is a public street you’re operating on. There is zero expectation of privacy.
Grr…
Anyway… Don’t buy that stone, lady. It’s a scam.
Hey… You don’t understand. Her fate is inescapable… We cannot get rid of the malformed creature residing in Yuya normally… Fate is absolute. But… maybe if you bought a Holy Stone you could control its temper…
You’re a bad person. Thankfully, I’m here to help.
U-Um, sorry, but what can you do to help me?
Gimme his name and leave it to me.
My boyfriend’s name…? It’s Yuya Uchimura. Why do you need to know…? Please, don’t hurt him…
Don’t hurt him? Damn. Well, then time for good ol’ Plan B!
You can’t change her fate with just a name… Ridiculous!
Wait… I’ll trust him.
Huh!?
He feels sincere. Also, Yuya has all my money, so I can’t afford it anyway. I’ll put my trust in this boy over a Holy Stone, if that’s my only option. Thank you anyway. Goodbye.
Dude! Stop fucking with my business! I have a quota!
Honestly, the shit you just tried to pull was fucking disgusting and I don’t know how can you possibly justify it to yourself.
You’ll see… Fate cannot be changed! This will prove it! If she stays with her boyfriend, she will be gravely injured in a year’s time! Try to change her destiny! But when you fail, it will be my turn! I will save her with my Holy Stones!
I can’t even tell if you believe the shit you’re spewing right now.
Well, we finally got the request that unlocks Chihaya’s Confidant. Also, I forgot how deeply unpleasant she is here!
Anon: get off your high horse
Early Morning
Music: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental Version)
Music: Everyday Days
A legendary female pope, huh? Do you think she really existed?
The answer………… is no.
Music: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental Version)
I want something filling, but with summer coming up I’m worried about having too many calories…
(Discerning Student) Why don’t we get tea? The diner in Shibuya serves Frui-Tea. It smells good, it’s great for your skin, and it totally increases your charm!
Frui-Tea? What a cute name! Sounds yummy! Being stylish starts from the inside out, after all. Guess I’ll try some.
I do not think that’s actually how being stylish works.
Sounds like a hip drink that’s real popular with the ladies. You want to try some?
No rule against dudes drinking it. If it tastes good and makes you more stylish, might as well, right? It might be a good idea to boost your Charm by drinking Frui-Tea whenever you’re at the diner.
Let’s get going. We’re going to be late if we don’t hurry.
Early Morning → Morning
Music: So Boring
A variety of heroes battling for dominance—truly an epic time.
There are heroes on both sides.
Charismatic rulers and warlords with the command of a thousand men may have their own appeal… But personally, I think that the strategists who support them can’t be ignored. Now then, Hamiru-kun. In his book, Zhuge Liang of Shu is famous for his exploits during the Battle of Red Cliffs… He’s also the inventor of the baozi, a kind of round dumpling. But their original name was based on their appearance. What’s the meaning of the original Chinese phrase that these dumplings’ name came from?
That is correct. Its original name, mantou, came from a phrase meaning “a barbarian’s head.” At the time, one region’s barbarians would use a person’s head as an offering to soothe the deity of a flooding river. But Zhuge Liang made a baozi in the shape of a head as a substitute.
Maaku gains Knowledge +1.
These days, you can find baozi with cute faces on them. If you think about their origin, it’s not too off the mark.
I never knew strategists came up with cooking, and not just strategies… Makoto’s our strategist. Wanna see what she can cook up?
Morning → After School
Music: Tokyo Daylight
The target should be in Mementos. Let’s hurry up and deal with ‘em.
I know. We’re gonna handle it today, in fact.
Music: Tokyo Emergency
(Rookie Station Attendant) Yes sir, Chief! But isn’t that the police’s job?
We have a duty to keep our guests safe. That’s why we need to be aware of what’s happening in town.
Roger that, Chief! I’m with you all the way!
Over in Shibuya on the train platform heading to Aoyama-Itchome, I find these two station attendants to eavesdrop on. I did not know they were here and I will probably forget to ever check their dialogue again after this.
And we’re going to head to the hideout for a Mementos trek… next time.